Why don't more people produce solar energy from their own homes? If you have a roof over your head you could also have solar panels producing energy. Save on the energy you pay for each month and use a source of energy which does not cause pollution to produce or deliver to your home.

I'm sure a lack of knowledge is a big part of the reason we don't see more solar energy panels. There is also some feeling of making change, taking the time to learn about solar for the home and the cost and effectiveness of solar panels versus just leaving things as they are.

I think it would help solar energy if people were aware of how it all works and how it benefits themselves.

In the future we may see buildings with built-in solar power.

Apartments, office towers, tall condominiums would be smart to utilize all those windows as a source for collecting solar energy. Will someone come up with a way to turn windows into solar panels? Or, does this already exist? No one would want to give up their view but there should be some way to keep the windows functional while also harvesting solar power. I've seen ads fully covering the sides of city buses. But, from inside the bus you can still see out the windows due to small holes in the painted on ad. Could that also work for solar windows?

The answer to America's energy problems could be right under our noses---or, rather, right over our heads. According to a recent study by the Energy Department's Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL), America's rooftops are full of untapped potential. In fact, up to 39 percent of America's energy could be generated just by installing photovoltaic (PV) solar panels on urban rooftops.

Popular Science reports that NREL analyzed rooftops in 128 cities across the United States, representing about 23 percent of all buildings in the U.S., according to an NREL press statement. The researchers assessed the buildings' suitability for hosting PV solar panels and measured how much power could be generated by each location. They found that 83 percent of small buildings had the technical potential to host PV panels on part of their rooftop areas, while 26 percent could host an entire rooftop's worth of panels.

Source: 39% of America's Energy Could One Day Be Generated by Rooftop Solar Panels | Mental Floss

More information: Consumer Affairs solar energy guide

Hat pins were not a joke. If women still wore hat pins there would be a hat pin fetish.

Being stuck with a hat pin would not make a good fetish. Too dangerous.

Some of them were 12 inches long, sharp and not used as a medical instrument traditionally.  I'm sure there would be a lot of accidental deaths by hat pin.

On the other hand, they may have been better than pepper spray at keeping the mashers at bay. 

In March 1910, Chicago's city council ran with that idea, debating an ordinance that would ban hatpins longer than nine inches; any woman caught in violation would be arrested and fined $50. The proceedings were packed with curious spectators, men and women, and acrimonious from the start. "If women care to wear carrots and roosters on their heads, that is a matter for their own concern, but when it comes to wearing swords they must be stopped," a supporter said. Cries of "Bravo!" from the men; hisses from the women. Nan Davis, there to represent several women's clubs, asked for permission to address the committee. "If the men of Chicago want to take the hatpins away from us, let them make the streets safe," she said. "No man has a right to tell me how I shall dress and what I shall wear."

Despite Davis' impassioned speech, the ordinance passed by a vote of 68 to 2. Similar laws subsequently passed in several other cities, including Milwaukee, Pittsburgh, Baltimore and New Orleans. Ten thousand miles away, in Sydney,  Australia, sixty women went to jail rather than pay fines for wearing "murderous weapons" in their hats. Even conservative London ladies steadfastly refused to buy hatpin point protectors.

Via smithsonianmag.com

The more you think about it the more you do wonder... Is this the real reason the family dog snaps and fights back - surprising everyone? This is one thing that has always bothered me about keeping animals as pets. There should be a standard about how pets are kept and treated while being kept. Beyond violent abuse there is the "too much of a good thing" abuse which leaves pets obese, babied and never allowed outdoors. Don't assume pets love being treated like your personal zoo baby.

Other sites writing about this are calling it a rebellion against old, traditional Japanese culture and standards. It may include that but it's not doing such a great job of changing any standards. Instead it is just slipping deeper into the old stereotypes of women being cute little pets kept on a leash (of some kind). This is not rebelling or finding freedom, or becoming your own person (woman). This is just sad and panders to male ego and fantasies. But, porn still sells really well and there are almost no real restrictions to any of it, not enough censorship or protection of women and children.

The term gyaru is a Japanese transliteration of the English slang word gal. - Wikipedia

Gyaru - a subculture made up of fashion conscious Japanese women and girls essentially rejecting their own oriental features and aesthetic traditions.

Something to note about being a Gyaru is that it’s actually very expensive to maintain the look. Some of the Manba Gyaru evolved into yet another sub-genre called O-Gyaru, who don’t wash off their make-up to save the expense of re-applying.

The O-Gyarus are generally anti-washing and hate spending on the upkeep of their looks so much so that they tend to stay indoors all day in their pyjamas and only venture out clubbing at night.

It might not be surprising that these kinds of Gyarus are very often unemployed and considered lazy by Japanese society.

... gyaru make-up looks distinctly inhuman and cartoon-ish– especially the eyes. With the Gyaru subculture placing a big emphasis on being all things toy-like and cute, you don’t have to look very far to see that the influence of this style of make-up comes from actual Japanese cartoons.

Kawaii (literally, “lovable”, “cute”, or “adorable”) is the quality of cuteness in the context of Japanese culture. It has become a prominent aspect of Japanese popular culture, entertainment, clothing, food, toys, and most importantly, personal appearance, behavior, and mannerisms.

It’s claimed that Kawaii Syndrome, a.k.a “cute” syndrome has replaced the former Japanese aesthetics of “beautiful” and “refined”.

‘In Japan, cuteness is expected of men and women. Many Japanese men are drawn to the owner of cute merchandise, because it is reminiscent of little girls, and Japanese women try to act cute to attract men’.

A subculture of women rebelling against their Asian heritage in favor of looking like cute, westernized, sexualized cartoon children.

Source: The Asian Subculture trying to ERASE their own Faces | Messy Nessy Chic

1. What was your favorite outside childhood game? Kick the Can, Ghost in the Graveyard, etc.?
2. How about board games? Do you have a favorite?
3. Do you play any PC games? Online or offline? If so, what is your favorite? If not, is there one out there you want to try?
4. Gaming stations,… there are so many out there and I know jack about them! Do you have one or more and which ones? XBox, XBox 360, Playstation, etc.?

Friday Fun: The Gamer Edition

Didn't really play many outside games. We did carnivals to raise money at different times of the year. Not a game but that is all I can think of as a favourite close to a game. (We did have Pull-the-String after all).2. Scrabble is always my favourite.

3. I like city building games like Caesar, Civilization, Stronghold, Age of Empires. I also like Carmageddon and roleplaying games online.

4. I leave all the game stations to my nephew. He has a couple of them, PS2 is the only one I can remember at the moment.